Why Would You Nerf Nunu Even a Little Bit?

Meep Man··10 votes·621 views

The current change on the PBE:

W- Blood Boil Duration: 12 seconds -> 7 seconds Cool Down: 15 seconds -> 10 seconds Mana Cost: 50 mana -> 35 mana Movement Speed Given: 8/9/10/11/12% -> 10%

This may seem like a neutral change, but it actually isn't where it counts. Allow me to explain why.

  1. Mana Costs on Nunu are not a huge thing. Just basic attack 5 times and the mana cost no longer matters. The mana cost buff is very minimal for Nunu's strength.
  2. The cool down and duration buffs may seem like they equal out, but what is actually happening is Nunu needs more CDR to obtain a permanent W. Previously, Nunu would only need 20% CDR, reducing his cool down to 12 seconds, an amount that equals the duration. Now Nunu needs 30% CDR for a permanent W. While not huge, it is still a nerf.
  3. Chances are, the main Nunu play style that makes use of his W is Support Nunu. While this may buff his early game slightly, the 2% movement speed nerf impacts Support Nunu for a much larger time throughout the game since Support Nunu maxes W first or second, depending on the game. Plus, percentage movement speed bonuses matter a lot more later in the game since just a little bit of movement speed later in the game can be the difference between a multi-kill and no multi-kill. So, I ask again, why are we nerfing Nunu? He is not strong at all right now.

4 Comments

warpenguin5555 votes

this right here looks like change for the sake of change. like seriously riot just rework nunu already

Amasa Delano4 votes

Jungle Nunu's clear times also benefit from keeping permanent Blood Boil up.

The Yetii Rider3 votes

This is a buff to Nunu.

Mana cost reduction is absolutely relevant. You're going to use Visionary on Consume or Ice Ball, because it saves you more mana. You're not going to use it on your cheapest ability unless you're not paying attention, which makes you a bad Nunu player.

The increased MS for the first 13 levels of the game is fantastic. Improving the rank 1 of an ability you max last is always a buff.

As for the CD/Duration change, Nunu's clear speed doesn't rely on perma Blood Boil. I don't even rank Blood Boil until level 4. What it affects is his ability to take towers, which is a bit insane right now with his Consume Blood Boil Mountain Drake combo.

It's a buff. It's not much, but it will probably get him to see some play in World's. That's what Riot wants.

AgentBlack1 votes

Agreed, and to add on...

The free +2% move speed until level 13 makes Nunu even more mobile when counterjungling is most relevant, and compliments his vision control and stickiness in ganks. The lowered cost also makes spamming W less punishing when you just want the speed boost to roam or transition camps. And I don't see how the -2% late game speed is so crucial to team fights; he's usually peeling or fishing for a good ult. As to its cool down/duration ratio, CDR is core on Nunu anyway for E spam and Q objective control.

I'd say this is clearly an overall buff.

EDIT: Also, I respect off-meta picks, but Top/Mid/Support Nunu are too niche to balance around.

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